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Hostgator VPS and YARPP? Whats' your experience?

by mkellam
20 replies
Hi,

We have had YARPP on our 100,000 visitors per month site for a long time and never really had any problems. When I monitored the server during high traffic times in the past, YARPP didn't seem to slow us down.

About a year ago, we started having major problems on our Hostgator VPS and Hostgator frequently blamed it on YARPP. YARPP has been very useful to us but I disabled it, and the problem continued.

Then Hostgator recommended I upgrade our VPS and I upgraded it 2 levels from our $79 a month level 4 hosting to a $130 per month Level 6 hosting.

I later discovered that I made an error in some custom mods in our theme and corrected them, which seems to have fixed the resource issue.

Lately, things have been much better, with server loads less than 0.5 (ideally, we should be at 2 or lower) but randomly every once in a while for a minute or two, the server load spikes to somewhere between 50 and 100, usually at normally low traffic times.

Hostgator said they think it's just "normal traffic" but it seems unlikely that we would have 200 times our typical heavy load traffic during 1 or 2 minutes of typically slow time from "normal traffic". They sent me a cut and paste response, recommending that I upgrade the VPS again or even get a dedicated server, but we're already spending more than we can really afford at $130 per month and 2 major upgrades didn't seem to overcome these spikes.

So my 2 questions:

1. Does anyone else have random huge server load spikes with Hostgator VPS?

2. Do any of you using YARPP find that it sucks a ridiculous amount of server resource? To me, it doesn't seem so (when I monitor real time resource usage) but Hostgator insists that it does.


We like YARPP enough that we are considering changing hosts to see if the problem really is YARPP or Hostgator.

I keep feeling like something is wrong at Hostgator and I am frequently sent to back to the Level 1 tech with the "cut and paste" answer, which is really aggravating, since the Level 1's never answer my question.

If you can shed some light on this and share whether or not you've had any of these experiences, I would greatly appreciate it.

We typically have 100,000 visitors per month on our Wordpress site on a Level 6 VPS, which includes:

CPU: Dual 3.4 GHZ
2304 MB RAM
1800 GB Bandwidth

We're also using caching, gzip, and a variety of other load reducing tools.

Thank you in advance for any suggestions!

Michael
#experience #hostgator #server load #vps #yarpp
  • Profile picture of the author humbledmarket
    Banned
    Originally Posted by mkellam View Post

    Hi,

    We have had YARPP on our 100,000 visitors per month site for a long time and never really had any problems. When I monitored the server during high traffic times in the past, YARPP didn't seem to slow us down.

    About a year ago, we started having major problems on our Hostgator VPS and Hostgator frequently blamed it on YARPP. YARPP has been very useful to us but I disabled it, and the problem continued.

    Then Hostgator recommended I upgrade our VPS and I upgraded it 2 levels from our $79 a month level 4 hosting to a $130 per month Level 6 hosting.

    I later discovered that I made an error in some custom mods in our theme and corrected them, which seems to have fixed the resource issue.

    Lately, things have been much better, with server loads less than 0.5 (ideally, we should be at 2 or lower) but randomly every once in a while for a minute or two, the server load spikes to somewhere between 50 and 100, usually at normally low traffic times.

    Hostgator said they think it's just "normal traffic" but it seems unlikely that we would have 200 times our typical heavy load traffic during 1 or 2 minutes of typically slow time from "normal traffic". They sent me a cut and paste response, recommending that I upgrade the VPS again or even get a dedicated server, but we're already spending more than we can really afford at $130 per month and 2 major upgrades didn't seem to overcome these spikes.

    So my 2 questions:

    1. Does anyone else have random huge server load spikes with Hostgator VPS?

    2. Do any of you using YARPP find that it sucks a ridiculous amount of server resource? To me, it doesn't seem so (when I monitor real time resource usage) but Hostgator insists that it does.


    We like YARPP enough that we are considering changing hosts to see if the problem really is YARPP or Hostgator.

    I keep feeling like something is wrong at Hostgator and I am frequently sent to back to the Level 1 tech with the "cut and paste" answer, which is really aggravating, since the Level 1's never answer my question.

    If you can shed some light on this and share whether or not you've had any of these experiences, I would greatly appreciate it.

    We typically have 100,000 visitors per month on our Wordpress site on a Level 6 VPS, which includes:

    CPU: Dual 3.4 GHZ
    2304 MB RAM
    1800 GB Bandwidth

    We're also using caching, gzip, and a variety of other load reducing tools.

    Thank you in advance for any suggestions!

    Michael
    Hey Michael,

    If you're looking to cut your cost you might want to try transfering to HostDime. This is who we use at the moment. They have some very cheap (managed service) dedicated server. I believe if you're transfering or a new customer there's dedicated boxes starting at $100 for 4 GB ram and dual core.

    I would like to help with your coding matter but unfortunately not that experienced there though hopefully this might help you cut your cost. you can hire someone on oDesk to help take a look through the technical details
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    • Profile picture of the author BeechHill
      Michael, here is an exercise for you to try, specially if you're tired of cut and paste answers from HG.

      I've hosted with WiredTree now for over 6 years, and never have I received some canned answer, or any suggestion that issues that never occurred before, all things being equal, would be resolved by sending them more money to upgrade. In fact I just got a free upgrade as they've improved their data center. No action on my part required!

      Send them an in depth inquiry and check the response, in fact do this with any prospective service you research. You're also paying way too much for this kind of hosting. You can get better specs, for instance, on WiredTree, for just $69/mo.
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      • Profile picture of the author humbledmarket
        Banned
        Originally Posted by BeechHill View Post

        Michael, here is an exercise for you to try, specially if you're tired of cut and paste answers from HG.

        I've hosted with WiredTree now for over 6 years, and never have I received some canned answer, or any suggestion that issues that never occurred before, all things being equal, would be resolved by sending them more money to upgrade. In fact I just got a free upgrade as they've improved their data center. No action on my part required!

        Send them an in depth inquiry and check the response, in fact do this with any prospective service you research. You're also paying way too much for this kind of hosting. You can get better specs, for instance, on WiredTree, for just $69/mo.
        Yeah thumbs up for WireTree as well, they're very active on the forums (other forums) and good accountability.

        Have read many excellent reviews about them in the past and know they send free upgrades for their current users (when they offer new upgrades) which is VERY rare. Even our current host at Hostdime doesn't do so (several times they offer top discounts for new customers but not the current ones)

        Check them out if you need a VPS. I heard they also got an average of 5 minutes respond times from actual support guys who know what they are talking about instead of overseas outsourced teams (which isn't an issue except most of the times these are mostly people skilled in conversation...not technical aspects)
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  • Profile picture of the author hustlinsmoke
    I won't lie, I love hostgator cause I was one of there first customers, but support has been lagging so bad I am thinking of switching.
    Hostgator has been failing me in a lot of regards lately and i would search for a new reputable hosting service, a vps can be really nice.
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  • Profile picture of the author vietnap
    That issue can happen when you are running WordPress site on a "normal" hosting vendor, who is not specified on WordPress. Have you ever considered to move to a Managed WordPress Hosting vendor yet? They can help to find out the reason.
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  • Profile picture of the author mkellam
    Hi Everyone,

    Thanks a bunch for the replies. After seeing the comments and looking at these hosts, I think we will change hosts, probably to WiredTree.

    Vietnap, I have not heard of a Managed WordPress Hosting vendor. Is this a host specifically designed for Wordpress? I'll go Google it. ;-)

    I have a lot of experience with our Wordpress site and the problems have occurred even though there hasn't been any real technical changes since the says when it all worked virtually trouble free, except that I have upgraded plans a lot.

    I think part of the problem might be that our site is larger than the majority of the sites Hostgator hosts and even though they offer the resource that should be able to handle it, I think a lot of the support staff are less familiar with issues that might be different with a larger site.

    Thanks again. It was very helpful.

    Michael
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    • Profile picture of the author CyberAlien
      Originally Posted by mkellam View Post

      I have not heard of a Managed WordPress Hosting vendor. Is this a host specifically designed for Wordpress?
      "WordPress hosting" is a marketing tactic that hosting companies use to advertise the fact that you can install WordPress on their servers - it's not that the do anything special. Their servers are exactly the same 99% of the time, they just choose to advertise that WordPress can be installed lol
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      • Profile picture of the author vietnap
        Originally Posted by Chase Watts View Post

        "WordPress hosting" is a marketing tactic that hosting companies use to advertise the fact that you can install WordPress on their servers - it's not that the do anything special. Their servers are exactly the same 99% of the time, they just choose to advertise that WordPress can be installed lol
        It's true if you are applying to some "WordPress Hosting" companies such as Bluehost or MonsterHost. They are just advertising one-click installation as WordPress Hosting. It's nothing beside using script such as Softaculous.

        However, a Managed WordPress Hosting service is just focusing on WordPress. They might or might not host for other scripts. But the important is they do know about WordPress. They will suggest you good plugins, keep your site updated, keep your site secured and optimized (of course, in server-side). They can assist you in case you have a bug in your WordPress installation. Those tasks are not done by a "normal" host. Basically, your WordPress installation is secured, optimized and can run faster, smoother than normal. You just focus on writing articles.
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        • Profile picture of the author 1Matthew
          Originally Posted by vietnap View Post

          It's true if you are applying to some "WordPress Hosting" companies such as Bluehost or MonsterHost. They are just advertising one-click installation as WordPress Hosting. It's nothing beside using script such as Softaculous.

          However, a Managed WordPress Hosting service is just focusing on WordPress. They might or might not host for other scripts. But the important is they do know about WordPress. They will suggest you good plugins, keep your site updated, keep your site secured and optimized (of course, in server-side). They can assist you in case you have a bug in your WordPress installation. Those tasks are not done by a "normal" host. Basically, your WordPress installation is secured, optimized and can run faster, smoother than normal. You just focus on writing articles.
          ...that's spot on. Another one I'm consider for my next site is WP Engine. I've heard good things from other friends using them. They are pricey however there's a whole list of features you can review to compare other hosts to these and justify whether those features will be worth the extra money.

          Would love to hear if anyone has any user experience feedback on WP Engine? It's currently at the top of my list.

          Thanks kpmedia, I must check out your suggestions too in my mix.

          Hope this serves you.
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          • Profile picture of the author vietnap
            Originally Posted by 1Matthew View Post

            Would love to hear if anyone has any user experience feedback on WP Engine? It's currently at the top of my list.
            I usually hear good things about WPEngine too. So, it's safe to host with them. On the other hand, I see you are from Australia, not sure if your customer market is in Australia too or not, but if you want to host with WPEngine, you might want to check if they can put you in a place that has good network performance with Asia Pacific area. WPEngine uses Linode VPS and Linode has different facilities. Otherwise, CDN is a good addition. WPEngine offers CDN too, but with extra charge.
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  • Profile picture of the author mkellam
    BTW, I'm new to the forums. CAn anyone tell me how to add the "Thanks" to replies in a thread?

    Thanks!

    Michael
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    • Profile picture of the author 1Matthew
      Originally Posted by mkellam View Post

      BTW, I'm new to the forums. CAn anyone tell me how to add the "Thanks" to replies in a thread?

      Thanks!

      Michael
      You are one more post away mate
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    • Profile picture of the author vietnap
      Originally Posted by mkellam View Post

      BTW, I'm new to the forums. CAn anyone tell me how to add the "Thanks" to replies in a thread?

      Thanks!

      Michael
      I guess that you can just click to Thanks button below each reply

      Originally Posted by mkellam View Post

      Ah, OK, thanks! My biggest problem with Wordpress is that when I can't solve a problem myself, I'm usually beyond the hosting support, so I guess that wouldn't help me much! ;-)
      Again, that's the reason for Managed WordPress Hosting vendors. They will help to debug your WordPress installation to find out the reason. Do not look for one-click installation vendors, they won't do anything.
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  • Profile picture of the author mkellam
    Ah, OK, thanks! My biggest problem with Wordpress is that when I can't solve a problem myself, I'm usually beyond the hosting support, so I guess that wouldn't help me much! ;-)
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  • Profile picture of the author kpmedia
    Since the sellout (Q2 2012), Hostgator has been horrible.
    And to be honest it was always just a shared host. The VPS and dedicated plans are "me too" type offerings. They DO NOT specialize in VPS or dedi servers.

    For a good VPS, look at Knownhost, Futurehosting, EuroVPS, etc.
    WiredTree is a good one too.
    Signature
    FAQ: Need a Site5/Arvixe/Hostgator alternative? And who is EIG?
    Reviews:     Need a good VPS, dedicated server, or unlimited host? (This is NOT a fake "top 10" list!)
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  • Profile picture of the author Clyde Dennis
    I'm a big fan of Hostgator, but NOT on high traffic sites. From my experience they seem to 'WANT TO' close down sites that get a little traffic instead of being supportive. Just my two cents worth.
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  • Profile picture of the author mkellam
    Hey everyone - I just wanted to follow up. We ended up switching hosts to Wired Tree. Thanks everyone for the recommendations.

    Regarding YARPP and Hostgator, it appears the problem was Hostgator. They seem to have an axe to grind against YARPP, but YARPP has never been a problem for us. Hostgator constantly blamed YARPP for our server problems, even after YARPP was disabled.

    Wired Tree was much less expensive than Hostgator for more VPS resources. I have found that our site seems to cause 40% less sever load and uses less of the memory when running on the Wired Tree servers than it did on Hostgator. Ironically, I have a lot more available resources for less cost, but not sure I need as much as I got! That's a comforting place to be! ;-) So far it is very promising.

    Anyway, I'm happily using YARPP again and glad the plugin was not the problem (and I've cut my hosting bill 38%, too.)

    Thanks again!

    Michael
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  • Profile picture of the author James_Harkin
    WPMU recently did a review of Wordpress hosting providers on 1st August 2013:

    Web Hosting Review: So Just Who is the Best? - WPMU.org

    They say that Pagely https://pagely.com/ is the best host.

    Regards

    James Harkin
    Signature
    "My First Joint Venture Generated Us OVER $633,451.64 PROFIT! How Would You Like Access To The TOP 1250 Internet Marketers Who Can Help You Do The Same?". PM Me About How They Can Help You Explode Your Business.
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  • Profile picture of the author mkellam
    I haven't heard of page.ly, but I did find that it is difficult to judge hosts based on reviews for the reason kpmedia suggested -- I think when people are affiliates reviewing a product, they usually won't reveal the bad things about a company, so it's hard to tell which ones they really like.

    For us, because we have a higher than average traffic site, a lot of the hosts that are perfectly fine for most haven't worked well for us, which has also been a challenge when host-shopping.

    Thanks again for your responses!

    Michael
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